Mats was born in 1744. Mats' father was Ado and his mother was Mari. His paternal grandparents were Paap and Anu; his maternal grandparents were Andres and Epp. He had four brothers and six sisters, named Ado, Jaak, Jüri, Peep, Liis, Kärt, Eva, Ann, Anu and Tiiu. He had two half-sisters named Mai and Liis. He died at the age of 58 in 1802.